


The War over the Microscope

by lesyeuxverts



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-02
Updated: 2014-03-02
Packaged: 2018-01-14 08:25:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1259596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesyeuxverts/pseuds/lesyeuxverts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war over the microscope started with an innocent remark – nothing more than casual conversation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The War over the Microscope

The war over the microscope started with an innocent remark – nothing more than casual conversation. It was only an everyday, off-the-sleeve comment, something to clear the cobwebs and mental fatigue after an interminable faculty meeting. Remus Lupin said it, walking with Severus Snape back to their labs on the third floor.   
  
Their shoulders brushed together as they walked down the narrow corridor, Remus looking sideways at Severus in his formal black suit. He held the door and followed Severus outside. "God, you must be sweltering in that suit."  
  
Severus's shoulders stiffened and his lips drew together in a thin, taut line.  
  
Remus smiled, jostling Severus with his elbow. "Going to another meeting today, are you?"  
  
"No."  
  
They passed under the shadow of the bell tower, and Remus, encouraged by the fact that Severus had responded, nattered on. "One of my students, you know Hermione Granger, is going to a conference next week. She's put together a brilliant presentation, though she still needs to confirm a few of her results. She's signed up to use the confocal microscope all week, did you notice? I don't think the poor girl stops to eat or sleep."   
  
"No," Severus said.  
  
"I think that she practically – what?"  
  
"No, one person cannot monopolize the departmental microscope for an entire week. It's an unreasonable burden on the other researchers in this department, Lupin. Control your students, or I'll be forced to speak with the Dean about this."  
  
"Severus –"  
  
At the entrance to his lab, Severus turned and gave Remus a mocking half-bow. His crooked teeth glinted when he sneered, the fluorescent lights highlighting all of his unpleasant features. He slammed the door shut behind him, leaving Remus agape in the corridor.   
  
\-----  
  
Remus bit Severus's earlobe, sucking on it to ease the pain. He nipped and licked his way down Severus's neck, stopping at his collarbones.   
  
"No, don't." Severus reached out to him, tracing the lines of his back and tangling a hand in his hair.  
  
"Don't what?"  
  
"Don't stop, please don't stop." Severus arched up against him, fingers tightening in his hair. "Remus –"  
  
Remus took a deep breath and held him still. "Severus, we need to talk."  
  
"Talk? There's a very short list of words that I want to be hearing from you right now, and 'talk' is not one of them."  
  
Severus rubbed his cock against Remus, digging sharp nails into his back. He thrust his thigh between Remus's legs and fumbled for the lubricant in the bedside table.  
  
It was too much – Severus's overwhelming arrogance, his pushiness, his attitude. Remus rolled away from him, buttoning his shirt. "Honestly, Severus. What is wrong with you today? What exactly happened at work, and why are you pretending that it never happened?"  
  
Severus rolled over onto Remus, pinning him to the bed and capturing his hands over his head. Holding him prisoner, Severus gave him a thorough, lingering kiss. "I prefer to keep my personal and professional life separate, Lupin. It has nothing to do with you."  
  
"It has everything to do with me when you ruin my student's experiments and then come to me for a quick, meaningless fuck," Remus said. He wrenched his hands free from Severus's grasp and tried to push him off.  
  
Severus rolled his hips against Remus, bending down for another kiss, nibbling and sucking. Their tongues dueled, the passion buried by their disagreement. Remus tried to close his mouth and failed.  
  
"Your student is being forced to eat and sleep, like all of the other students in the department. It's no great hardship to her and it's not as though I've ruined her career. With any luck, I'll have taught her something about how to budget her time and schedule experiments."  
  
Severus began unbuttoning Remus's shirt, licking the pale skin as it was revealed.  
  
"There was no need for you to speak with Dumbledore about it," Remus said, "and no need for you to treat me so coldly."  
  
"What do you want?" Snape asked, unbuttoning Remus's trousers and pulling down his pants. He exhaled hot puffs of air against Remus's groin, making his cock twitch. "A snuggle in the corridor? A grope during the departmental meeting? A snog by the scintillation counter?"  
  
Remus gathered his strength and heaved, rolling them over so that he was on top of Severus. "How about a smile or a friendly nod, love? Would it hurt you to let everyone know that you don't hate me anymore?"  
  
He captured Severus's hands and began to suck on his fingers, giving him a predatory smile. When Severus made no response, he began to kiss a path from wrist to elbow, licking and nibbling as he went.  
  
Severus pulled away from him and bolted out of the bed. He slammed the door behind him again, his parting words echoing through the wood. "I do hate you at work."  
  
Remus watched him leave and then sighed, rolling over and buttoning up his shirt. The warmth of Severus's touches, the lingering kisses and caresses faded away. He grabbed the nearest pillow and buried his head under it.   
  
\-----  
  
The microscope was free the next day – Remus stood watch over it all morning, pacing the length of the corridor. None of Severus's students came to use it. He sent terse e-mails to Professor Dumbledore and longer e-mails to Hermione. He sent nothing to Severus, and received nothing in return.  
  
Without any excuse, he cancelled the joint lab meeting with Severus's group, putting a sign on the door of the conference room. Neatly printed letters, inoffensive blue ink – the note said nothing of what he wanted to say to Severus. He put tape all around the edges and hurried away before he was seen there.  
  
The next day, he gave Hermione the key to the microscope room and asked her to send him the data as soon as she was finished. They'd work on her presentation later, he said, pleading a headache. He shut himself in his office and closed the blinds. He spent the day staring at the computer, skipping lunch and coffee, forgoing any chance of seeing Severus. With grants to read and manuscripts to edit, he buried himself in a whirlwind of papers.  
  
He glared at the door when someone knocked and he ignored his ringing phone, but when his computer beeped, the plaintive tone caught his attention. An e-mail from Severus popped up:  
  
 _It appears that one of your incompetent students has broken the film developing apparatus in the darkroom yet again. I suspect that it may have been the immature and reckless Potter brat, but I hesitate to make formal accusations without further proof. I have spent hours today in the darkroom, trying to repair the machine. It would behoove you to assist me before I make a formal complaint to the Dean. –S_  
  
Nothing compared with Severus when he was in a foul mood. Remus slipped his feet back into his loafers and stood, working the kinks out of his back and shoulders. There was no hope of accomplishing anything with this hanging over his head, and his quiet and solitary afternoon was shattered.   
  
He stopped by Harry's bench on his way out, tapping his foot until the young man turned off his iPod. "When did you last use the darkroom?"  
  
"Er ... last month, when I was looking at the interaction between –"  
  
"Yes, perfect," Remus said. "Thanks."  
  
\-----  
  
Severus was waiting for him in the darkroom, haloed like a demon in red light. His pants were pulled down and his cock was out. He was stroking himself, his head thrown back and his throat gleaming in the ruddy light.  
  
"Severus, what are you –"  
  
"Close the door, you idiot."  
  
"What – the developer – broken –"   
  
Severus's eyes sparkled in the red light, his beaky nose and his lank hair shrouded in the darkness – all ugliness hidden. Everything melted away except for the two of them – all of the unkindness and betrayal, all of the past, all of the world shrouded in darkness, and only enough dim light was left to illuminate the two of them.   
  
Severus stroked himself, beckoning with his free hand. "Come here, Remus."  
  
When Remus hesitated, Severus came to him. He peppered kisses along Remus's jawline, down his throat, and he captured Remus in his arms, holding him tight.   
  
"Don't leave me," he said, thrusting his cock against Remus's stomach. He was hard and ready, stroking himself in the dark. He gave himself up to Remus, unbuttoning his shirt and baring his throat.  
  
"Take me," he said. "Make me forget. Make me yours."  
  
"Severus, I don't think –"  
  
Severus surrendered, passive in Remus's arms for the first time. He was warm and wanton, his harsh lips parting for Remus, his legs spread for Remus, his moans echoing in the dark and shadowy corners of the room.   
  
"Severus." Remus pushed him away and held him at arm's length. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Compromising."  
  
Severus leaned back against the developer, his legs parted. He made a show of sucking on his finger and began fucking himself on it. The red light cast dark shadows on his thighs and arse, his white finger gleaming as it moved in and out. His hips swayed, and the machine clattered with his rhythm.  
  
Remus took a deep breath and gripped the doorknob, holding his hands away from his cock. "Come away from there before you break something, Severus. What do you mean, compromising?"  
  
"We both get to have sex, and no one has to see the way that I love you at work."  
  
Severus hesitated, his fingers brushing Remus's face. He turned away, his face hidden in the shadows. "I – I do love you," he said. "The prank – everything that happened between us in the past – the microscope – none of it matters compared to you."  
  
Remus lunged for him then, pressing him hard against the machine and biting his lips in a harsh kiss. "You're mine," he said into Severus's ear, biting his earlobe, thrusting against him.  
  
In a flurry of hands and buttons, they stripped, baring skin to the darkness and the dim red light. They rocked together, hips aligned and hands exploring. Remus bit down on Severus's collarbone and marked him. This was familiar territory, familiar surfaces – there was no need for light, no need for a slow exploration or tender kisses.   
  
He tangled his fingers in Severus's hair and pulled him closer. Severus's breath was warm against his cheek, his mouth was wet and yielding as he cried out, thrusting harder. They rocked together, completing each other when they came. Remus kissed Severus on the cheek and held him until his breathing slowed.   
  
\-----  
  
There was a bright gleam in Professor Dumbledore's eyes when Remus and Severus were late to the meeting. They slunk across the room to the overstuffed armchairs, and Severus reached across the table to touch Remus's hand. "Pen?" he whispered, and Remus handed him one.  
  
Their fingers lingered together for longer than necessary, and Dumbledore cleared his throat. "As I was telling you in the e-mails that I sent you, I have designed a new formula based on the number of students and post-docs, the faculty tenure time and lab size, contributions to departmental seminars, and publications in high impact journals. I've also set it up so that we can factor in upcoming publications, urgent experiments, and the like. It's a complicated formula, and I have programmed it into this PDA here. You need only input all of your information and the new microscope schedule will be ..."  
  
"That will not be necessary, Albus."  
  
Severus rose, folding his arms over his chest. "I was mistaken in my earlier complaint – as a matter of fact, there are no real problems with the previous system for scheduling use of the departmental microscopes."  
  
Dumbledore blinked. "Yes, well, I am so pleased to see that you two gentlemen have worked through your animosity. It's so pleasant to have the entire department working together in harmony, isn't it?"  
  
Severus scowled at him and pulled Remus from the room, glaring Dumbledore into silence. When the door closed behind them, he pushed Remus against the wall for a deep kiss.   
  
Remus smiled into the kiss. This was his Severus, cantankerous, pushy and arrogant – and this was his Severus, kissing him in a public corridor. Remus yielded to him, and let himself be pulled down the corridor.   
  
"Let's test the soundproofing in your office," Severus said.


End file.
